Page 56 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2026

THE
ISSUE
for Young Learners
Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia
Lighting the Way
Kayla Reggio and Daughter, Camille
story by Cherie Ward
photo courtesy of
the Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia
For students with dyslexia, learning differences can often be misunderstood or overlooked. At Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia, however, those differences are recognized, supported, and even celebrated.
The school offers a full academic program designed specifically for students with dyslexia, providing specialized instruction alongside a rich curriculum that includes
art, theater, STEM, and movement. For many families, Lighthouse Academy provides something students may not have experienced before—a learning environment where they are surrounded by educators trained to understand how they learn best.
For Director of Curriculum and Instruction Kayla Reggio, the mission of Lighthouse Academy is deeply personal. A Certified Academic Language Therapist and Qualified Instructor, Reggio has spent nearly 15 years working in dyslexia.
But her path to the profession began long before her career. While attending a Catholic high school in Baton Rouge, Reggio was introduced to a dyslexia lab on campus—an uncommon resource at the time. When she returned home after college, the opportunity to work
in that program opened the door to graduate studies in dyslexia therapy and ultimately launched her career.
Years later, that calling would take on new meaning when Reggio began noticing early signs of dyslexia in her own daughter, Camille, now a third-grade student at Lighthouse Academy.
Because of her background, the clues appeared early.
One moment stood out during Camille’s pre-kindergarten year. After learning a rhyme in class, Camille sang it slightly differently on the car ride home. “It seemed so small,” Reggio said. “But I knew.”
From there, other indicators followed—difficulty with
letter sounds and early reading skills—confirming what Reggio had already suspected.
Today, Camille is thriving at Lighthouse Academy, surrounded by teachers trained in dyslexia therapy and classmates who share similar learning differences. “The right environment makes a huge difference,” Reggio said. “Camille and all of our students are confident because they are in a place where people see their strengths.”
To learn more about the early signs of dyslexia, listen
here...
www.lighthousedyslexia.org • info@lighthousedyslexia.org
56 | April 2026
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